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*REVIEW* 3A Square Bomb

Today is a special day for me because today my wife has taken over and written her first toy review! Not only did she do the write-up, but she shot all the photos as well. I’ll add a few of my own thoughts here and there as well to spice things up, but the majority of the following is all her!

Also at the end of this review is Rad Toy Review’s very first unboxing YouTube video! We’re still working out the kinks but it’s a good start and we’re excited to see where it takes us!

– Knives

INTRO

Hi all! Knives’ wife (sometimes called The Red Lady) here. I didn’t think it was possible for toys to take over any more of husband’s life until this website came along. To my chagrin, it immediately proved my theory wrong. I mean, really, who writes over 4,000 words about a toy? I don’t think he ever even wrote that much for school assignments! I feel if I have any hope of spending time with him ever again, I’m going to have to get involved with this toy business occasionally. So here I am! He’s asked me to share my perspective for this review, as a non-collector and “outsider” of sorts. While I won’t pretend to understand his relentless drive to collect toys and subsequent obsession with them, as a creative type, I do think some look pretty cool, so I’ll do my best to be fair and not let my personal feelings of abandonment color my words 😉 On to Mr. Square Bomb!

PACKAGING

The box he comes in is…well, it’s a box. Garden variety corrugated cardboard, white on the outside, brown on the inside. Other than the (comparatively rather large) threeA logo, the artwork is all black, white and orange. It’s simple, but kind of a neat look. I don’t really get the word bubble on the side, though. I guess it’s supposed to be what the square thinks, but it’s way too serious to come out of that goofy face.

K – The only thing I’d like to add about the packaging is actually about the brown shipping box it comes in. On the side clearly reads the words “SQUARE BOMB”. Yes, 3A has sent us all bombs in the mail. Prominently labeled as such. I wonder how many (if any) of these were held up in customs because of it.

WHAT’S INCLUDED

Just the toy. Unless you’re super creative, and then I guess you could maybe do something with the plastic shell pieces?

THE BREAKDOWN

I’m going to ‘fess up here and admit that while I regularly give Knives a hard time about his “Ash” obsession, I actually really like some of Ashley Wood’s art (I could happily live without the scantily clad women with weird looking feet) and think a lot of his toys are pretty neat looking. The squares are definitely my favorite. Simple, but they have personality and are pretty cute. And before you go thinking I’m all girly and I just like cutesy things, know this – when the zombie apocalypse comes, I’m the one in this household that knows how to handle a weapon.

Ahem. Now that we have that cleared right up…

This square is a little different than the others, mostly because he’s carrying a giant bomb on his noggin. I’m not sure how he intends to use it, given that he lacks arms, but it’s there. His face is a little different than the other squares too. He still has that bucktooth thing going on, but his lip is far less curled out. I know he’s supposed to be the “crazy” one, on account of the word “unstable” printed on his face in giant block letters (subtle, no?), but he actually looks a little less crazy than the normal squares because of the lip. He’s also got one pretty sweet eyebrow over his left eye. He seems very sneaky to me!

I’m really impressed with how much articulation he has for a toy with so few appendages. Knives tells me it’s about the same as the other squares, but I guess this is the first time I really played with one. You can twist the base that the legs attach to all the way around, rotate and twist the top of the legs around a ball joint and even twist his feet back and forth a bit. Unfortunately, with so many options and his top-heavy nature, it was a little difficult to get him to actually stand up while photographing.

One of the things I think is so cool about these toys is the interesting paint jobs. The weathering and detail are (normally) great. This guy looks like he’s had dirty water running down him along with the normal weathering detail on the edges. There’s also some reddish splatter in there that breaks things up nicely.

Given that I’m usually such a fan of the paint though, I’ve gotta say I think they really phoned it in on the bomb. It’s a random assortment of red, brown and silver splatters that don’t make any sense to me, and are applied in a really lazy manner. There’s about four smudge marks around the main body of the bomb, with each color right on top of the other in the exact same spot, and anywhere with a dip is completely free of paint.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Overall I like this little guy. He’s got personality. It was pretty easy to come up with a little back story for him while taking pictures. If you don’t look too close, the paint job looks nice. The only other issue I had with him is that it’s pretty unclear how the bomb is attached. The belly of the bomb just kinda squares out, sitting flush to the top of his head. I feel like this was a missed opportunity for cool detail that would sell the whole bomb thing a little better.

Well, thanks for sticking around long enough to read the thoughts of the uninitiated! It’s been fun. I’m sure I’ll start to miss Knives again soon and have to come back for another!

K – Personally, I wasn’t too excited about square bomb when I ordered him. I ordered him based on the single fact that I love the MK1 Square. It’s a 3A/Ashley Wood classic. I was intrigued by the new face but the bomb didn’t look very “realized” in the teaser shots. I had my hand firmly on the trap door when he arrived only to be surprised by his “personality”. The new face won me over right away. Also, as my wife mentioned, the paint and weathering is well done. Perhaps just as important, not OVER done. There’s a good balance of dirty and clean and some nice attention to details around the edges and corners of the square’s body. It’s not the best I’ve seen 3A do, but it’s pretty darn good. I’ll agree with my wife that the bomb did lack some of the finer paint details of the square, but it didn’t bother me as much as it did her.

I think the thing I like about this guy the most is that he’s a one-off. One character with a unique face and a singular idea behind him. That could all change tomorrow and 3A could release a dozen different colorways of the bomb toting psycho, but for now he’s unique and I love that.

I do wish the bomb had some straps around it, or maybe some hoses running from it into the square’s body to make it a little more cohesive. This is 3A. They do straps and belts and hoses and bags like it’s their job.. because IT IS their job! It just looks like it’s stuck on with no basis of how or why. Some simple accessory connecting the two would have gone a long way I think.

Other than that I’d like to echo my wife’s feelings and say that overall I like this little guy. Thanks sweetie for putting this all together for me! You’re the best!

Pros:

wonderful new “troubled/sneaky” face

nice overall paint application

A unique character based off one of 3A’s most classic (and one of my favorite) toy designs

Cons:

The general execution of the bomb, from the way it’s painted to the way it’s attached looks less than inspired

Check out the first ever Rad Toy Review unboxing video!

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